05.10.2013

Austin Film Festival is happy to announce the winners of the 7th annual “Make a Movie, Make a Difference’ video PSA competition. Congratulations to:

Asia Walker of Manor Tech High School and Keren Rico of Del Valle High School

Austin Film Festival & The Travis County Sheriff’s Office invited local teens to participate in the 7th Annual “Make A Movie, Make A Difference” video competition. Travis County high school students were encouraged to create either a 30 sec. commercial or a 2-5 min. short film that addresses the theme “How Your Choices Affect The World Around You.” Students could creatively express the theme by raising awareness on issues such as Bullying, Dating Violence, Drugs & Alcohol, Gangs, Teen Pregnancy or Suicide.

Patrick, YFP Director, gives us an update on Digital Storytelling, AFF’s art education program that provides film and screenwriting curriculum and resources to Austin public schools. To learn more about Digital Storytelling, click here.

“Oh crap, mops!”

Thus jumpstarted a screenplay about killer mops, “Mopacalypse,” penned by an especially clever Garza High School student.  In the script, a group of terrified teenagers outrun a horde of bloodthirsty killer mops.  They swab, sop, and wring their victims into a damp and sputtering pulp.

The table read for the script felt light and breezy, garnering a few laughs along the way. Each Garza student, and even myself, assumed a role in the script and acted the story aloud.  By reading the script, the writer gained a sense of momentum and flow to his story.  Did the characters sound realistic?  Did the killer mop premise hold water (yuk yuk) over the course of five minutes?  When the script concluded, the students, teachers, and I harped on these questions and provided constructive feedback for the author.  We lauded the horror film parody inherent in the script, and pushed the author to take the premise even further.

“What if someone gets a phone call,” I suggested, “and they hear a mop wringing on the other end?”

“Or the students try to kill the mop, and it breaks into smaller mops, like scrub brushes. . . or toothbrushes!”

“Or the mop dies, then pops back up like Michael Myers in HALLOWEEN?”

“Or there’s a nest of mops run by a Queen?”

“And you see a mop hatching out of an egg!”

The rapid fire exchange of ideas is something I live for in a writing workshop, and I’m always happy to see students catch a spark of inspiration.   Along with the help of two other guest filmmakers, I helped each student shape their idea into a cohesive whole.   I encouraged the students to cut extraneous scenes and hone in on the material that worked – all killer and no filler.  I also reminded the students to add more focus to their scripts.  Consider what each character wants and what is stooping them them from getting it.  Pinning down a clear goal and obstacles for each character helps spin a tight story loaded with conflict.

We read another script, a music video about a ladybug longing for a human.

“How are you going to direct a ladybug?”  I asked.

“You could make it stop motion.”

“Maybe you could use a combination of live ladybug and a fake ladybug for still shots?”

“Or pull a dead ladybug on a string!”

“Gross!”

The diversity of the screenplays at Garza High School astounded me.   We acted out an absurdist murder mystery about mercury poisoned top hats, felt for a boy who lost his hearing, and cringed at a schizoid werewolf hunting yarn. As a screenwriter, I’m always excited to see where the students take their material.  How will the finished product look?  Often, the final film will not resemble the first draft of the script.  It’s these revisions, growing pains, and sometimes happy production accidents that really breathe life into the creative process.

The next time I visit Garza, the students will have revised their scripts and produced a second draft.  I can’t wait to see how their ideas have grown!

Meet Your 2012 Workshop Instructors!

May 19th and 20th, Austin Film Festival is offering a series of free workshops focused on providing educators with the knowledge base and tools to implement a screenwriting and filmmaking curriculum that encourages students’ imagination and artistic talent while improving literacy and technical skills.

To find out more about the workshop, visit the event page.

Saturday, May 19th:

Ya’Ke Smith – Widely regarded as one of this generation’s next film directors to watch, Ya’Ke has made a name for himself as a filmmaker with a veracious style of storytelling that takes an unflinching look at issues facing today’s society.

Ya’Ke made his first film at the age of 15, while a student at Sam Houston High School in his native San Antonio, TX and has yet to look back. His films have received world-wide acclaim, screening and winning awards at over 70 film festivals, including The Cannes International Film Festival, The DC Shorts Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, The Dallas International Film Festival, The BET/Urbanworld Film Festival and The American Black Film Festival. His films have also screened on HBO, Showtime and BET. He is the recipient of a Director’s Guild of America Student Film Award, a regional Student Academy Award and an HBO Short Film Award. His short, Katrina’s Son, won 14 film festivals and was eligible for this year’s Academy Award in short filmmaking. His debut feature film WOLF, had its world premiere at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival and won The Panavision Best Texas Feature Award at the 2012 Dallas International Film Festival.
Ya’Ke graduated with his B.A. from the Communication Arts Department at the University of The Incarnate Word and his M.F.A. from the University of Texas at Austin’s film program. He is currently a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he was recently named the Morgan Woodward Distinguished Professor of Film and Video.

Cindy McCreery – Cindy is a graduate of the Walt Disney/ABC Feature Writing Fellowship program for the 2002-2003 year.  Her script POWDER PUFFS got her into the program and was sold to Walt Disney Pictures after she finished the fellowship. Cindy immediately wrote and sold her next feature spec script, SOCCER MOM to New Line Cinema.  In the fall of 2005 Cindy sold a pitch of the true story of Maria Pepe who sued the Little League for discrimination when she was ten years old to Paramount.  In 2006 National Geographic Films hired Cindy to rewrite ELEPHANT WILD and later in 2007 in partnership with Warner Brothers, they hired her again to develop and write FREE WILLY: ESCAPE FROM PIRATES COVE which was released in March of 2010.  Also in 2007 Cindy sold a pitch of a revamped BABY BOOM to MGM.  In 2009 Disney Channel hired her to adapt the book, RISING STAR into a Disney Channel Original movie.  Cindy recently finished a spec script co written with Tara Miele for Broken Road Entertainment and is currently developing both feature and Television projects.  In 2011, Disney Channel once again hired her along with Tara Miele to write the Disney Channel Original Movie, UNPLUGGED, which is slated for an July 2012 production date.  Along with her writing, Cindy has been teaching in the Film Studies department at UC Santa Barbara for the last six years and is also on the UCLA Professional Program in Screenwriting Faculty.  She has most recently joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radio TV and Film at The University of Texas at Austin where she teaches both undergraduate and graduate TV and Feature screenwriting.

Sunday, May 20th:

Richard Lewis – Richard has worked as an editor, producer, director, and/or writer for companies including National Geographic Television, Channel 4 (UK), A&E, PBS, Sierra Club Productions, and Devillier-Donegan Enterprises. His most recent script, Acceleration, a finalist for a Sundance Sloan grant, is currently under option. His recent feature script, Small Fryes, was optioned by Broken Road Productions (The Zookeeper, Knight & Day).  Richard also wrote the treatment for and worked as a creative consultant on The Living Weapon, an episode of American Experience for PBS which won an Emmy for research in 2008.  Richard’s documentary, Chimp Rescue, premiered on National Geographic Explorer and won a Genesis Award as the year’s Best Cable Documentary. His editing credits include Nick Broomfield’s Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of A Serial Killer.  Additional experience includes three years as a story analyst in Los Angeles and three years as a management consultant with Andersen Consulting in Atlanta and London.  Richard currently teaches as an Associate Professor in the Department of Radio-TV-Film at the University of Texas.  His primary teaching areas are producing and screenwriting.  He is originally from Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Stephen Belyeu – Director of Youth Education at Austin Film Festival, Stephen Belyeu received his Bachelors Degree in Film from Texas A&M University. An award winning writer/director, Belyeu’s debut feature film, Dig, competed in the 2010 Austin Film Festival and took home the Narrative Feature Audience Award. While pursuing his own film projects, Belyeu began teaching filmmaking to youth through various organizations in the Austin area, including the City of Austin Parks and Recreation, Austin School of Film, and the Austin Film Society. In 2011, Belyeu became involved with AFF as the Film Competition Programmer. After a year in this position, he stepped into the Director of Youth Education position, where he now oversees Austin Film Festival’s Young Filmmakers Program. He is currently working on his second feature film.

For more on Austin Film Festival’s Young Filmmaker’s Program, click here.

Summer Film Camp, presented by Austin Film Festival’s Young Filmmakers Program, returns in June for its tenth annual program of screenwriting, filmmaking and claymation workshops for aspiring filmmakers ages 9 – 18. Workshops offer students unparalleled access to in-depth, personal instruction from industry professionals.

In addition to workshop sessions, campers are provided with opportunities to participate in panel discussions with special guest speakers. Past speakers include Anne Rapp (screenwriter - Dr. T and the Women, script supervisor - Funny People, He’s Just Not That Into You, The Color Purple), Jeff Nichols (writer/director - Take Shelter), Dan French (Emmy®-nominated late-night comedy writer), Alvaro Rodriguez (screenwriter, Machete) and Tom Holland (writer/director - Fright Night). Topics are based on the distinct expertise and experiences of each guest.

June 11 – August 3, 2012
Austin High School map

All completed camp films will premiere at the Summer Film Camp Showcase. Family and friends are invited to attend and celebrate these films on the big screen! Students will also receive a DVD copy of their film.

All workshops and panels are held at Austin High School, home to one of the leading media arts programs in the United States.

Click Here For More Information & Enrollment

Time Warner Cable Contest Press Release (PDF)

Target “School Play” Invitation (PDF)

With teenagers more and more able to ma ke their own professional, solid movies a whole group of books have been released focused on helping teens make better films. The best of these books will let you get a better feel for the production process, and help you to figure out what snags are holding you back from that three picture deal.

These books should be on every teen filmmaker’s shelf:

Filmmaking for Teens: Pulling Off Your Shorts by Troy Lanier and Clay Nichols
Written by two filmmaking teachers at St. Stephens Episcopal High School in Austin(and former panelists at the Austin Film Festival), Pulling Off Your Shorts is a great primer for any teen interested in filmmaking. The book guides you through writing, directing, and distribution for short film or video projects. An ideal starting places for any aspiring filmmaker.

The Ultimate Filmmaker’s Guide to Short Films by Kim Adelman
A great guide book to the world of short films outside showing them to your friends at parties, Adelman’s book is written from the point of view of an experienced short film producer that knows her way around. Anything you might need to know to get the resources to get your film produced can be found in here, as well as useful information from someone that has done it all before.

Film Directing: Shot by Shot by Steven Katz
Now that you’ve got a couple of shorts under your belt, why not get a little more analytic? Steven Katz’s book gives a great breakdown of the fundamentals of film directing. It’s not something you might want to start off by reading, but once you are ready to have your films take that next step this should be number one on your to do list. Katz breaks down film language for you so that you can learn how to speak it in your own way.

Feature Filmmaking at Used Car Prices by Rick Schmidt
Ready to step up to the feature film? Well then this book can show you how to get it done on the cheap. Schmidt will show you the ins and outs of taking on a project that big, while showing you the tricks to make sure your film isn’t as expensive as King Kong. The differences between shorts and features are bigger and perhaps different than you might expect, but this book will get you prepared. If you think you’re ready, this is the perfect place to start your journey towards a feature film.

I know that you might be in filmmaking to avoid reading, but you are going to have to get over that. Some of the best lessons you can get in film will be found by reading about the art form. In addition to these books focused on production, check out some film theory and read up on the history of film. The more you know about movies, the better yours will be.

But of course, don’t forget to back these up with watching films!